Can Cooper still shine with Burgess’ poor passing?
Columnist By Spiro Zavos, 2 Jun 2010 Spiro Zavos is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, robbie deans, Rugby Union, wallabies
Australian rugby union player Luke Burgess is tackled by Jimmy Cowan. AAP Image/Paul Miller
For some weeks now, the gossip around rugby circles is that Robbie Deans would not select Quade Cooper and Kurtley Beale in the same Wallaby starting XV. I must admit to passing on this nugget of misinformation in one of my recent posts. We were all wrong.
The Wallaby team to play Fiji at Canberra on Saturday night has Kurtley Beale starting at fullback and Quade Cooper at number 10. The rest of the backline is predictable enough (Digby Ioane/Adam Ashley Cooper the wingers, centres Rob Horne and Matt Giteau) except for the halfback, Luke Burgess.
Readers of The Roar will know that I don’t rate Burgess, likeable and enthusiastic chap that he is, as a halfback of any quality.
First and foremost, halfbacks have to be good passers of the ball. Burgess passes poorly, and what is more, his timing of pop-up passers to one off runners is appalling.
The great Des Connor, a Test halfback for Australia and New Zealand, says that Burgess has a technical failing in that he passes with his feet together which means he does not have a steady platform to launch his passing from. He always seems to me to resemble a man falling forward off an unsupported ladder when he makes his passes.
The result of this terrible technique is that number 10s do not flourish – ask Matt Giteau and Berrick Barnes – when Burgess is the halfback. Now Cooper has the task of trying to run a backline when he doesn’t know where the ball is going to be delivered to him.
Cooper’s play has been thrilling this year because Will Genia has passed beautiful long, flat and catchable balls to him to run on to. Every now and again, Genia breaks, a tactic that keeps flankers from flying at Cooper.
I’ve thought that aside from Genia, who is in a class of his own with the other Australian halfbacks, that Josh Valentine has been the next best, or next least worse, Australian halfback. Valentine is inclined to be too stroppy and give away penalties by antagonising referees but at his best he is feisty, runs quite well, and with a couple of steps, wind-up passes quite nicely.
Burgess, to his credit, is an excellent defensive halfback.
This may be the reason why he is being played with Cooper and Beale. The two stars, as well, are probably on notice that unless they improve their tackling, they will not be picked for future Tests, especially in the Tri-Nations, where the Springboks particularly will run their big loose forwards right at (and hopefully not through) Cooper’s defensive channel.
The front row is clearly not the starting front row when all the injured props and hookers are back playing. The back five, though, looks to be the best the Wallabies can put out on to the field, while Wycliff Palu and James Horwill remain injured.
Aside from Nathan Sharpe and Rocky Elsom, it is a smallish back five which will have to lift considerably against tougher sides than Fiji. Peter Higginbottom is out injured, but when he comes back, he might be considered a possible number 8 given his size, speed and power.
Deans suggests in classic coach-speak that “the selection template is always a living document.” At least he is not on about ‘the group’ and their ‘journey.’
I think he means that selections change when circumstances change.
I would take from this that Burgess (for his passing) and Beale and Cooper (for the quality and enthusiasm of their defensive work) are on notice this Test to lift their game. The Fijians, if their forwards can give the backs even about 30 per cent of the ball, should provide an interesting challenge for the halfback/number 10 link and the fullback to see if they can translate Super 14 form to the Test level.
For what it is worth, I think Cooper and Beale are up to this task. I don’t think Burgess is.
The problem with this, presuming I’m right, is that if Burgess unravels, then he’ll bring down Cooper with him.
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- Kurtley Beale, Quade Cooper, robbie deans, Rugby Union, wallabies
June 2nd 2010 @ 6:57am
johnny-boy said | June 2nd 2010 @ 6:57am | Report comment
Burgess is a 1st five killer. Giteau, Barnes and now Cooper are going to have their careers stuffed by Deans’ idiotic persistence with, and misplaced loyalty to a good ol country boy (just like himself). It’s about time these 1st fives stood up for themselvs and said enough is enough – we can’t work with this rubbish service and we are not prepared to sacrifice our own careers just so Burgess and Deans can bum slap each other about the sheep. They will regret it if they don’t have the balls to take control of their (poisoned outside Burgess) careers.
June 2nd 2010 @ 7:29am
LeftArmSpinner said | June 2nd 2010 @ 7:29am | Report comment
Hmmm. Seems like it will be a weekend of exposed or even exploded myths!!!!
1. Can Burgess pass?
2. Can Cooper play without Genia?
3. Can Beale and Cooper tackle?
My answers at this point are, but will be confirmed and/or denied on Saturday:
Burgess, an enigma. He can play, but needs the confidence to make it happen. He’s not alone in this. He has played well in the past. He can pass, but sometimes doesn’t. He can run and creates another attacking option. He is a fierce, courageous and reliable tackler of players much bigger than himself. Just ask SBW this time last year. (Hmm, tackling takes confidence and yet his tackling has never waned.) He is a good bloke and and the ultimate team man.
Cooper, in my opinion, has benefited from Genia’s service. I am unsure how he will go without it. he too is a confidence player.
Can they younsters tackle? Well, on occasions, yes. Should they have to do much tackling, NO. about 1 tackle a game, if evedryone else is doing their job. Should their selection be based on their ability to tackle. Definitely not, if they are playing in those positions, 10 and 15.
June 2nd 2010 @ 7:30am
James D said | June 2nd 2010 @ 7:30am | Report comment
Mate i know you dont like Burgess but at his best he is a fine running halfback. Giteau played last year at 10 with crazy depth at times making passing quicky difficult cause you dont know so much where he is going to be. I think while it is fairly optimistic you will see Burgess improve based on the fact he is passing to a much more flat attacker.
Burgess needs to learn to pass the ball without crabbing accross field Gregan style. Somehow it worked for Gregan but it just never has for Burgess.
June 2nd 2010 @ 11:07am
el gamba said | June 2nd 2010 @ 11:07am | Report comment
That’s a fair point James D, in a few of the Brumbies game I noticed the poor service from Phibbs/Valentine certainly wasn’t helped by the fact they had to turn past 90 degrees to see Giteau. Genia on the other hand would have Cooper in his peripheral vision which would have to help clear the ball from the base under pressure.
June 2nd 2010 @ 7:31am
LeftArmSpinner said | June 2nd 2010 @ 7:31am | Report comment
Oh, and I cant wait to see Higginbotham twins (Scott and Peter) in a Wallabies jersey………. big, fast tireless worker. all good!!!!
June 2nd 2010 @ 7:49am
John said | June 2nd 2010 @ 7:49am | Report comment
Giteau couldn’t and Barnes couldn’t. I doubt Cooper can. I doubt even Larkham, Carter or Wilkinson could.
June 2nd 2010 @ 8:18am
TembaVJ said | June 2nd 2010 @ 8:18am | Report comment
Spiro you and I don’t agree on much but this one we see eye to eye. Its not only crisp service from Ginia but also how the two of them combine in broken play, they understand and read each other extremely well. Ginia is 10 x the 9 burgess is I would even think of including him before Cooper as he might spark Gits at 10. All this and not even mentioning Ginia’s leadership skills.
I think Deans sticks to Burgess in fear of admitting he was wrong.
You can expect the big Fiji centres to run that channel all day. Gits is good in defence but not the biggest lad and cooper can get caught on the wrong foot.
Over all I like the team, I would keep the Cooper Ginia combo, move gits to 13 and slot on of the bigger fellas to 12. The backline is light, it might pay off with the news interps.
June 2nd 2010 @ 8:44am
mickh said | June 2nd 2010 @ 8:44am | Report comment
To answer the question of the headline. The simple answer is NO!
June 2nd 2010 @ 8:50am
Brett McKay said | June 2nd 2010 @ 8:50am | Report comment
Spiro, I’d love to know what you mean about Valentine, with “…and with a couple of steps, wind-up passes quite nicely.”
How is this any different to what George Gregan was hounded for years about?? Why is this acceptable now??
June 2nd 2010 @ 8:58am
Edgo said | June 2nd 2010 @ 8:58am | Report comment
In defence of burgess… Yes we do exist! Well maybe just me. No relation.I think halfback is the easiest position to criticize as an armchair critic. Burgess can and has passed well notably in the game against hurricanes where he provided a fantastic platform for barnes to direct attack. No one noticed or gave him credit there but when the tahs play badly he is an easy and amplified scapegoat because he’s on the ball more than anyone else. Sure his form has gone up and down but I think he deserves ahis spot as 2nd best halfback in oz.
June 2nd 2010 @ 2:25pm
Who Needs Melon said | June 2nd 2010 @ 2:25pm | Report comment
“I think halfback is the easiest position to criticize as an armchair critic”.
Fun too!
June 2nd 2010 @ 9:19am
pd said | June 2nd 2010 @ 9:19am | Report comment
Excellent article Spiro, Burgess has been angonising to watch with the Waratahs this year. Just a small correction, it is Scott Higginbotham, not Peter. He went to school in Singapore with my eldest son, back in the mid 90′s. At that time there was no indication he would end up the size he is now, although his tenacity was never questioned.